Out of Balance
by ashleezak
Summary: Post DD.  For every action... Well, you know.  10Rose.
1. Chapter 1

Standard disclaimers: I don't own any of Doctor Who or any characters herein.

AN: This is a very short fic that developed with a mind of its own. I just love it when the plot bunnies hijack my head.

Prologue

On that cold, windy beach Rose Tyler died. She stared out to where the Doctor's form had just vanished with her name on his lips. Tears coursed down her face. It wasn't fair. It wasn't enough time. He loved her, just as she loved him.

Her mother hugged her and let her cry out her heartbreak, but no one realized that Rose Tyler, simple human girl from London, was dead.

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The Doctor stared at her where Rose's image had vanished. The unspoken words still burned in his throat. It seemed incredibly wrong to let them loose when she couldn't hear them. She had deserved to know how he felt, but all he could do was curse himself for being too slow. The tears shone unashamedly on his face. He couldn't remember the last time he'd cried.

For a split second, he felt the TARDIS join with him in grieving the loss of Rose Tyler. His shock was something he couldn't follow up on immediately due to the appearance of the bride.

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There were pieces of the universe that still needed stitched together. The damage that the Doctor had repaired was impressive, but there was still no way to repair all the fissures that spread out across an entire universe. The damage was just too extensive.

The TARDIS refused to reveal this information to the Doctor. She felt it just too cruel to give him false hope. So instead, she kept shooting him off course, or out of time, trying to catch each tiny crack as they slowly healed themselves.

She knew that the Time Lord was growing irritated with her, but she had her reasons. In spite of himself, he just might end up happy after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Mickey Smith stared at his computer screen. "Oi, Ed. Take a look at this."

Leaning over his shoulder, the older man stared at the screen. "What the bleedin' hell is that?"

"It looks like some sort of radiation. But our weekly sweeps showed nothing like this," Mickey said.

The two Torchwood employees shared a look. "Well, can you determine where it's coming from?" Ed asked.

Typing quickly, the younger man watched as the information came up. "It looks like it's coming from the second floor, northeast corner."

"Second floor? That's all offices." Ed straightened up. "Call Jake. Have him take a couple fellows and do a more intensive sweep. And let Pete know."

"Got it." Mickey picked up the phone and made the calls. Hanging up the telephone, he sat and looked around his office.

The old Mickey would've never gotten to this point in life. After meeting the Doctor, however, he had seen enough to motivate him out of his oblivious existence. The only problem was that even the new, improved Mickey wasn't enough to jump-start Rose from her depression. Frowning at the direction his thoughts were headed, he leaned back in his chair.

It had been nearly a year since Rose had left her heart on that beach in Norway. Mickey wavered between sympathy for her and frustration that she wouldn't move on. Even now, she sat at her desk job on the lower levels at Torchwood, living her half-existence.

The appearance of this radiation worried Mickey a bit. He had learned the hard way that strange occurrences usually preceded danger, especially when either he or Rose was anywhere nearby. Waiting impatiently for Jake's results, he watched out the window at the passersby on the street below. He was amazed that so many people could be so oblivious to the strange things that happened around them.

"Hey, Mick, got a moment?"

He stared at the familiar blonde standing in his door. "Yeah, course. Come on in, Jake."

Jake sat down heavily. "You ready for this, mate?"

"What have you got?"

"I found the source of that radiation," he said, keeping his gaze away from Mickey.

"And?"

"It's coming from Rose."

That was absolutely the last thing Mickey expected to hear. "Come again?"

"Rose is the source of that radiation."

Mickey blinked. "Are you sure?"

"Bloody sure."

He sat for another moment before picking up the phone again. "Pete? It's Mickey. Can you come down for a bit?" He listened for Pete's agreement and replaced the receiver.

They sat silently until Pete Tyler joined them. "So, what exactly is the problem?"

"Earlier I detected some unexplained radiation in the building. Jake here went down and swept the floor looking for it. He found it."

"And what is it?"

"It's not dissimilar to the radiation that the Doctor used to close the breach."

Pete frowned. "So?"

"It's coming from Rose. In massive amounts. Dangerous amounts," Jake said quietly.

"No," Pete said quietly. "I am not letting Jacks lose her daughter again."

Mickey sighed. "We need to get her secluded."

"I am not letting Jackie go through that again," Pete repeated. "Do everything in your power to get this situation under control, but you keep Rose safe. Is that clear?"

Mickey and Jake nodded. "Understood."

The three men stood together. Pete walked out, never looking back. Mickey looked at Jake. "I'll go get her. Get holding room three ready, all right?"

"Got it."

The walk to Rose's desk took longer than should have. Mickey stared at her sadly.

"Have a seat or move on, Mick. Don't just stand and stare," Rose said, never looking up from her computer.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Listen, Rose, can you come with me? I've got something to show you."

"What is it?" she asked disinterestedly.

"Something that you've had considerably more experience with than anyone else on this whole planet."

She finally looked up. "All right."

He walked silently through the corridors, leading her down into the basement. Rose stepped into the holding room. "So, what am I supposed to be looking at?" she asked, noticing the empty space.

"You."

"Excuse me?" she asked, incredulously. "What's wrong with me?"

Mickey left the room, leaving an astonished Rose in the holding room alone. She walked over to the window where her friend appeared behind. "What are you doing to me?"

"You are emitting dangerously high levels of radiation, Rose. We don't know what's causing it, but you need to stay here until we figure out what's going on."

He knew exactly when she lost control of her temper. "Mickey Smith, let me out of here! Now!"

"I can't."

"I swear, when Pete finds out what you've done…"

She stared into the other room as Pete walked into the room. "Rose, honey, we're going to find out what's going on, so we can get you home to Jacks. I'm sorry."

Furious, she stamped her foot. Whirling, she began pacing the small room. "Mum's going to go off when I don't come home!" she ranted.

Mickey watched the readouts in the room. Nudging Pete to get his attention, he pointed toward the screen. "The madder she gets, the higher that goes. She's got that whole room glowing."

Pete sighed heavily. "I'll call Jacks. You make sure that she can't get out of there tonight. And keep her vitals monitored. I want to be called with any changes." He looked at Mickey. "Clear?"

"Understood."

Rose paced the room, frustrated with the whole situation. There was no reason that she needed to be locked up. It wasn't like she was dangerous. Even as she thought the words, she felt something burning in her fingertips. Staring down at her hands, she watched as the glow that sparked around her fingers began racing up her arms. Suddenly stiffening, she felt the fire take over her whole body. Eyes rolling back in her head, she heard her name being screamed in the distance, but she was on fire. Rose tried to scream, but the flames crept down her throat. Power fought with pain as she fell to the floor. Seconds, hours, maybe eons later, Rose felt her body finally surrender.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Martha woke suddenly. Terrified until she recognized her new room on the TARDIS, she panted, straining in the semi-darkness for the sound that had interrupted her sleep. The bloodcurdling scream was repeated, and Martha threw herself out of bed.

Racing down the halls of the TARDIS, she tried to follow the noise. Stumbling out into the brightly lit control room, she stared in horror as she watched the Doctor on the floor, writhing.

"What's wrong?" she asked, medical training kicking in. As she knelt by him, she began taking quick mental notes. She had to grab his face as his head thrashed back and forth. His eyes were wide open and staring blankly out past her. Martha winced and pulled her hands back. His skin was literally burning.

"Doctor! Can you hear me?" she asked.

Another scream ripped through the TARDIS. She covered her ears, wincing at the noise. Unable to think of anything else to do, she ran and got water and towels. He was lying still when she got back. Her first thought was that he was unconscious, but his eyes were still open.

Quickly, she unbuttoned his suit jacket and shirt. Pulling them open, she packed the wet, cold towels on his chest. Using a smaller one, she rolled it up and wrapped it around his neck. The smallest one was reserved to bathe his face. Uncertain how this rise in temperature would affect the Time Lord's physiology, she worked to keep him as cool as she could.

It seemed hours later before Martha realized that the Doctor's skin wasn't heating back up as quickly. "Doctor? Can you hear me? Are you all right?" she asked, trying to prompt him into a response.

"Rose?"

The word was barely more than a whisper, but she heard it. "Doctor? What's wrong?"

He blinked finally. "Martha?" he asked hoarsely.

"Are you all right now?" she asked, laying a clinical hand on his brow.

He propped himself up on his elbows. Pulling a wet towel off, he dropped it with a splash. "I'm wet."

She leaned back on her heels. "You were burning up." Frowning, she continued more slowly. "Is it normal for you to run fevers like that?"

He shook his head very slowly. "It wasn't an illness." His eyes took on that faraway quality again. "I was on fire. She was on fire."

She understood which she he was talking about. "How do you know?"

"I don't know." He looked lost as he admitted that. "I don't know."

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Mickey watched in horror as the radiation spiked off his charts. Yelling for Pete, who hadn't had enough time to go far, he stared helplessly as Rose began to glow. Screaming her name, he pounded helplessly on the window as he watched her go up in a violet burst of flame. She collapsed on the floor and lay there, writhing.

The young man rushed for the door before being held back physically. "You can't go in there, Mickey!" Pete shouted.

"She's dying! I've got to help her!" Mickey never stopped struggling toward the door.

"Mickey! She's gone!"

It took those words being screamed in his ear to halt his efforts. "No. She can't be." Pressing his face against the window, he stared at her still body. "No. She's not dead. She's not."

Pete's tear-streaked face confirmed his fears. "The radiation's gone. She's gone."

Mickey looked again. Blinking away the tears, he forced himself to stare at the still form on the floor. He checked the stats out of habit, but they just confirmed what he could see for himself. Rose Tyler was dead.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Opening her eyes, Rose stared into the silvery mist. She sat up, not feeling any ill effects from her conflagration episode. A soft light shone all around her. "Where am I?" she whispered, not really expecting an answer.

"_This place has many names. I believe humans call it Heaven_," a disembodied voice echoed all around her.

"There's a heaven? You're joking," Rose said, then clamped a hand over her mouth. She couldn't believe that she'd just sassed back.

"_You've been to hell, Rose Tyler. Why would you doubt its counterpart? Itfasnia, Heaven, The Great Garden of Shalia, Valhalla, Olympus, R'raxinfla. They all symbolize the opposite of hell. Hasn't your time with the Doctor shown you how important balance is?"_

Rose stood. "So I'm dead, then?"

"_Yes and no. That body on the parallel world was never meant to be there. It was eliminated before it could cause irreparable damage. However, your time has not actually expired in your own universe. This is causing a paradox."_

"I don't quite follow. I'm listed as dead on my earth, so where's the paradox?"

"_The paradox comes from immense energy transfers. Each parallel universe has a certain amount of energy at creation. The Time Lords used to travel between these universes, but their technology allowed for these transfers."_

"So, it's kind of like a teeter-totter. If you add weight to one side, you have to add the same amount on the other side," Rose said.

"_In a greatly simplified manner, yes."_

She giggled. "All that time around the Doctor and his explanations, I learn that from a playground." Sobering, she said, "Okay. So because I was sucked through the void and into Pete's World, and nothing was created behind me, I was going to destroy the universe?"

"_Actually, it would destroy two."_

"And that would kill the Doctor, too." Rose blinked away tears. "So, what happens to me now?"

"_We have to send you back to your earth to fill the emptiness left when you were removed. However, since you no longer have a physical form, you need to be sent back to your younger self."_

A thrill of excitement twisted Rose's stomach in knots. She'd get to travel with the Doctor again.

"_However,"_ the voice continued, _"To ensure that this situation doesn't simply happen again, certain key events are to be changed."_

Just as quickly, her hopes fell. "And which events would these be?"

"_If we let you relive all of your life up to the transfer, your knowledge of events will change the time lines, resulting in a breakdown."_

"Yeah, the Doctor talked about that," Rose admitted.

"_It was your joining the Time Lord at that point that causes the divergence."_

There was a very long silence. "So, in order to save the world, I have to give him up? Completely?"

"_Yes."_

Pacing around, she thought furiously. "And what if I simply refuse to go back? What will happen?"

"_Your universe would be destroyed."_

"But wouldn't that have happened if something would've happened and I'd died on Mars? Or on earth in the past? Or after the earth is destroyed? Won't that muck it up just as badly?" she demanded.

"_No. You would have expired in your own universe."_

A sudden, terrifying thought occurred to her. "But if I had to die, because I don't belong in that universe, what about my mum? And Mickey? Do they have to die, too?"

"_Because you are the key, they will not be affected."_

"But I make that much difference? How's that possible?"

The voice was quiet for so long she began to wonder if she'd been left alone. _"It is too complicated."_

"No, you mean it's too complicated to explain to a stupid ape," Rose snapped. "As the Doctor found out, I'm not that stupid."

"_As you wish. Both your mother and your friend had been assimilated by the Cybermen and transported to your world. Even though they died, there was an equal transfer. You never existed, so living in that universe created the imbalance. This is an oversimplification of the situation, but it is accurate. If you change the key event, neither you nor your mother and friend will make the transfer. The balance will be restored."_

"So I really don't have a choice, do I?" Rose asked, defeated. "When are you sending me back to?"

"_It was your decision to travel with the Doctor that began that particular time line."_

Inhaling, she blinked back the tears that suddenly filled her eyes. They were asking her to save the universe by giving up her life with her love. "I'm ready."

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_London, 2005_

The Doctor stuck his head out of the TARDIS. "Did I mention that this travels through time?"

Rose stood, feeling Mickey's arms clasped tightly around her waist. Every fiber in her being shouted at her to run into her beloved Doctor's ship, but instead of planting a quick peck on Mickey's face and running into the TARDIS, she walked over to him slowly. Her thoughts raced as she tried to summon the strength to do what she must. A flash of hope fluttered as an idea sneaked in.

Smiling enigmatically, she stopped right in front of the Doctor. "Do us a favor, eh?" she whispered. "Come back for me in a year." With that, she turned and walked away.


	5. Chapter 5

Epilogue

The Doctor stared at the controls. He had programmed in 1861 in South Carolina, but instead stared at early 21st Century London. Frowning, he stepped outside and looked around. He knew this alley. It was the blonde woman that walked toward the TARDIS that jogged his memory.

"I've met you, haven't I?" he asked. "Rose, isn't it?"

A beautifully entrancing smile met his question. "So, any way I can hitch a ride to the end of the earth?"

Startled, he stared at her. She was much more worldly than the last time he'd seen her. Tugging on his leather jacket, he straightened proudly. "You know what? I believe you can." Offering her his arm, he asked, "You ready?"

"For everything."


End file.
